1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to apparatus for conveying with facility a variety of types of articles in a magazine rotatable about a generally horizontal axis from a region where they are loaded into the magazine to a location where they are dispensed from the magazine. Optionally, while they are being conveyed from the loading region to the dispensing location they can be subjected to treatment such as cooling, heating, irradiation, spray coating etc.
2. Description of Related Art
U.S. Pat. No. 2,762,094 of A. B. Vieth shows an automatic casting machine having a polygonal cage rotatable about a horizontal axis and carrying a mold block attached to each side of the polygon. When a mold block is in a horizontal position at the top of the polygon molten metal is poured into the block to form a casting. Simultaneously another mold block with a solidified casting is horizontal at the bottom of the cage and the casting is ejected from it. The cage is adapted to convey only mold blocks and the castings in them. Unlike the present invention, the Vieth machine cannot convey a variety of types of articles. Also there is no suggestion in Vieth of subjecting the castings to treatment while they are being carried from the loading region to the ejection location.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,163,312 to Robert B. Green shows a machine with a conventional endless belt conveyor on which are mounted molds spaced along its length. At a first station molten metal is poured into the molds and the conveyor moves the molds to a second station where the ingots are ejected from the molds. The refractory linings of the molds are electrically heated to maintain the exterior side surfaces of the ingots in the molds at a desired temperature as the molds travel between the two stations. Because of the belt conveyor this machine occupies a large amount of floor space compared to the present invention. When articles conveyed by the present invention are optionally heated as they travel between loading and dispensing locations the invention avoids the need to supply and maintain separate heating elements for the containment structure for each article as Green must do.